In a moment of impulse, I forcibly kissed my brother's best friend.

Xie Yige: "…………"

Li Roujia: "???" You have a best friend like that too!

No wonder people say that Princess Yuzhen's temperament is unpredictable and her actions are always unexpected, Xie Yige muttered to herself.

"Yuzhen—" A clear male voice came from the garden entrance.

Li Yuzhen's expression changed slightly. Why was her imperial brother here? She quickly got up, then suddenly remembered something and turned back to tell Xie Yige, "You stay here and wait for me, don't go out." Then she quickly walked out of the pavilion.

Suddenly, only Xie Yige and Li Roujia remained in the pavilion, and the atmosphere became awkward.

Li Roujia looked at Xie Yige, and for some reason, she felt a strange sense of crisis. This feeling displeased her. As soon as Princess Yuzhen left, she regained her proud and noble demeanor.

"I don't recall ever meeting Lady Xie in the capital," she asked, holding her teacup, her tone reserved and distant. "Is Lady Xie a native of the capital?"

"Your Highness, Yige is not from the capital," Xie Yige replied truthfully. "I come from Donglin City."

Donglin City?

Li Roujia's heart sank slightly. How could it be such a coincidence? He had just returned from Donglin not long ago. For some reason, she felt vaguely uneasy. She thought of the Fifth Prince outside, and then looked at Xie Yige's overly beautiful face, and suddenly an idea came to her.

"Please wait here for Her Highness, Madam Xie." She put down her teacup, stood up, and said, "This princess will take her leave now."

After saying that, she turned and left.

But she didn't actually leave the princess's residence. She walked to the gate of the princess's residence, but did not get into her carriage. Instead, she stood under the porch, seemingly waiting for something. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, she saw a man dressed in a purple brocade robe with auspicious cloud patterns walk out of the residence.

Li Roujia then led her maid out gracefully, pretending that she had just passed by as well.

"Li Roujia pays her respects to the Fifth Prince." She bowed and performed a standard, respectful bow.

The Fifth Prince, Li Xianning, paused, his gaze falling on her, his eyes narrowing slightly: "Why is Roujia here today?"

"Sister Yuzhen has recently met an extremely beautiful woman, and she's introducing me to her," Li Roujia said with a slight smile, her tone gentle and refined. "We just had some tea together for a while before reluctantly saying goodbye."

"Oh? An extremely beautiful woman?" Li Xianning gently touched his chin with his fingers, a strange light shining in his eyes.

"Yes, her name is Xie Yige," Li Roujia said softly and naturally. "I heard she's from Donglin."

After she finished speaking, her gaze swept quickly across Li Xianning's face, catching a hint of interest in the corner of his eye. She sneered inwardly, but showed no sign of it on her face.

"Interesting." Lee Hyun-ning nodded.

"Then Roujia will take her leave first." Li Roujia said, bowed again, and quickly left with her maid.

After walking a few steps, she deliberately looked back—and sure enough, she saw that Li Xianning had not left, but had turned around and walked back into the princess's residence.

A very faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

Li Yuzhen had just returned to the pavilion when palace servants hurried over.

"Your Highness, the Fifth Prince has returned and is heading towards the pavilion."

Li Yuzhen frowned and made a quick decision: "Quickly take Xie Yige to hide in the nearby greenhouse."

Without saying a word, the palace servant took Xie Yige's hand and led her away from the pavilion.

"Sister, what happened?" Xie Yige was being dragged along by her, her heart pounding with anxiety.

"Don't speak," the palace maid said in a low voice. "Remember not to make a sound later."

She shoved Xie Yige into a flower room and closed the door.

Xie Yige hid behind the flower rack in the greenhouse and, through the gaps, vaguely heard the conversation between Li Yuzhen and the Fifth Prince.

"Brother, why are you back again?" Li Yuzhen's voice carried a hint of displeasure.

"Yuzhen, why are you all alone here?" Li Xianning's voice was tinged with laughter. "Isn't there a lady from Donglin here? I heard she's extremely beautiful. Won't you introduce her to your brother, my dear sister?"

"How did you know, Your Majesty?"

"I just ran into Li Roujia at the gate of your residence. She told me about it."

"Oh." Li Yuzhen's voice turned cold. "Madam Xie has been gone for quite a while. I'll introduce her to my brother next time there's an opportunity."

"As expected of my good sister." Li Xianning's tone was unreadable. "Then, Your Majesty will take your leave."

The surroundings fell silent again.

After a while, the palace maid opened the door to the flower room and led Xie Yige back to the pavilion.

Princess Yuzhen sat there, her face terribly gloomy.

She glanced at Xie Yige and sighed inwardly. That bitch Li Roujia still prefers these underhanded tactics.

"Yige, sit with me a little longer," she said, her voice much gentler than before. "Wait until they've gone far away before you leave."

"Okay." Xie Yige sat down opposite her, picked up the cup of Mengding Shihua tea that had gone a little cold, took a sip, and found it quite delicious. Then she gave Li Yuzhen a sincere smile, "Your tea is so good, I don't want to leave."

Having just listened to the whole thing, Xie Yige naturally understood Li Yuzhen's good intentions. She was just very surprised, as Princess Yuzhen seemed to be quite different from the rumors.

Li Yuzhen looked at her big, bright, smiling eyes, and her expression gradually softened.

The unpleasantness caused by the incident just now doesn't seem so important anymore.

The two sat facing each other, and amidst the butterflies and fragrant flowers in the garden, a sense of heartfelt connection arose between them.

"You know what," Li Yuzhen suddenly spoke, her voice a few decibels softer than before, "when I first saw you, I actually wanted to kill you."

Xie Yige's teacup wobbled slightly, and the tea almost spilled.

"That day at the Great Ci'en Temple, if it weren't for that jade pendant, you would be a corpse by now." Li Yuzhen's tone was calm, as if she were talking about a trivial matter. "In this Chang'an city, every year, there are at least eight or ten young women who mysteriously disappear. No one will investigate, and no one dares to investigate."

Xie Yige felt a chill run down her spine. She knew Li Yuzhen was telling the truth; if it weren't for Cui Yutang, she probably would already be...

"But you didn't kill me in the end," she whispered.

"Yes, I didn't kill you." Li Yuzhen finally turned her head, looked at her, and a cryptic smile appeared on her lips. "Do you know why?"

Xie Yige shook her head.

"Because Cui Yutang is his good friend, and also someone I value." Li Yuzhen put down her teacup and didn't continue speaking, her gaze becoming somewhat distant and dejected.

"So I want to see what's so great about you." Li Yuzhen looked her up and down, her tone slightly critical. "Right now, it seems there's nothing special about you—you're just a little prettier, a little sweet-talking, and a little busty."

Xie Yige was left speechless, both amused and exasperated by her words.

At this moment, another palace maid entered.

"Your Highness, Cui Yutang is waiting outside the mansion. He says... he wants to take Lady Xie back."